News

PSU waste sort reveals opportunities

Author: Campus Sustainability Office

Posted: June 10, 2013

This spring, Portland State University staff sorted through 690 pounds of campus garbage to find out what portion of materials could have been diverted from the landfill through recycling and composting, or avoided altogether by using durable goods.

Of the sample that was sorted, 35 percent could have been composted, and 13 percent could have been recycled in the standard metal, paper and glass recycling bins on campus. To-go cups and containers made up another 10 percent of the waste, which could have been avoided all together through the use of durable mugs and to-go containers. Only 26 percent of the waste was actual waste that has no other place to go than the landfill.

Many other items in PSU’s waste stream could also be avoided though procedural changes. For example, restroom waste, largely made up of paper towels, is not accepted in Portland recycling or compost systems, and switching to hand driers in restrooms could greatly reduce the amount of restroom waste produced.

The sorted landfill-bound waste was collected from a variety of campus buildings that included administrative offices, classrooms, food-service operations, and lab spaces. The project team used information from PSU’s Space Analyst to identify a sample that would represent the broader PSU campus.

CES is a research and service unit within the Center for Urban Studies at Portland State University. The unit employs 15-20 students annually and partners with organizations in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors to provide high quality research, technical assistance, data collection and educational outreach services in the areas of solid waste minimization, recycling and program evaluation.